Ohio Casino Commission Approves First 200 Sports Betting Licenses

• Last Week, the OH Casino Control Commission Approved 200 Type C Licenses
• Type C Licenses Allow Holders to Place Betting Kiosks in a Venue
• Ohio Sports Betting Market Must Legally Launch by January 1, 2023

In Ohio, there are four months to go before the official deadline to launch its new legal sports betting market and as part of the tedious regulatory process, the OH Casino Control Commission (OCCC) has just approved the first 200 sports betting licenses out of the 650+ applicants.

Those applicants are all part of the Ohio Bars Now Applying to Host Kiosks with Limited Sports Betting that we recently reported on, mostly local bars, taverns, restaurants and wherever Buckeye sports fans enjoy their favorite pro and college sports matchups and bet a little money.

Over thirty US states have already done what Ohio is in the middle of doing, which is to legalize, regulate, and tax their own sports betting market, a tricky journey from bill to launch but a right each state has gained ever since the Supreme Court overturned PASPA in May 2018.

The OCCC still has plenty of sports betting license applications to sort through before December 31, but those 200 that they just approved last Wednesday are an encouraging start, and now those Ohio venues can begin to prepare for the upcoming legal launch.

Type C Licenses Allow Holders to Place Betting Kiosks in a Venue

Those were Type C Licenses that were approved last week, and they give the holder the right to operate sports betting kiosks in their venue which would allow resident adults to spend up to $700 per week gambling on pro and college sports games using four types of bets.

Now fans watching a game at their favorite Ohio watering hole can make that sports matchup even more exciting by placing a wager on the results, and it becomes as easy as walking over to an available kiosk and sliding in an ATM card.

Most of these sports gamblers in Ohio have been making bets for years using unregulated offshore sportsbooks or illegal local bookies so until that market launches there will still be active in the Birthplace of Aviation, it’s just that the money will go elsewhere until January 1.

Ohio Sports Betting Market Must Legally Launch by January 1, 2023

According to the sports betting law in place in Ohio, that market is legally required to launch by January 1, 2023, and if that deadline is not met there will most likely be substantial financial penalties applied not to mention all the millions of sports betting dollars lost in the dely.

The regulatory process in Ohio is ongoing and it is not too late for those venues who have yet to apply or be approved to move their case forward, and in a statement, by the OCCC they make that clear:

The Commission expects to continue licensing Type-C sports gambling hosts who missed the application window before the universal start date.

Ohio is home to a wide array of pro and college teams including the NFL’s Browns and Bengals, the MLB’s Guardians and Reds, and the NBA’s Cavaliers, historic franchises with plenty of fans who like to put some ‘skin in the game’ and in just four months they will legally be able to do so.